ask aluminium Forum

I am working on a design for a 24' aluminum trailer for personal use and want to build it myself in my hobby time. I had assumed the hardness of 6061 tread plate was the go to material but have realized that 3003 is nearly half the price and with all the cost down measures companies are taking these days I am questioning if the cheaper 3003 is the norm ?? Does Anybody know. 

I am also considering extruded planking for the floor as an option but not got any pricing as of yet. I realize that the softer 3003 will have to be more carefully braced from underneath to prevent it from getting warpally looking. Does anyone here have insight into trailer building and materials used

6061? What condition? T6? If so when welding it, expect it to lose approximately 1/2 it's yield strength around the welds. At worse expect it to lose 4/5th's of it's yield strength since it can and does return to the annealed condition (i.e. T0). It can be worked around but you have to incorporate that work around into your design. 5000 series don't lose as much strength when welding but they do lose some also.

3003 will also lose strength when welding too. And depending upon the initial temper of the material you purchase it can lose as much as 80% of it's strength.